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Monday, January 16, 2012

How to Make Pot Roast in a Crockpot and Recipe for Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

This Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast is a great Phase One Recipe made in the Crockpot

(Here's a popular pot roast recipe that seems perfect to feature for our Month of Daily Phase One recipes. If you think pot roast made in the crockpot is going to be a little ho-hum without the potatoes and carrots, you simply must try this recipe!)

When my friend Bonnie told me she had made this recipe and liked it, I immediately realized I wanted to make it again just so I could take better photos! Bonnie was kind enough to say that she didn't think the old photos were that bad, but trust me, these updated photos give you a much better idea of what a tasty recipe this is! This pot roast is just the thing to cook on low all day in the slow cooker while you're at work, and dinner will be ready when you get home.

I'm not a pot roast expert, but I've made pot roast in the Crockpot enough times to have strong opinions about how it should be done. There are three things I think are important to remember. First, Brown the meat well before you put it in the Crockpot because browning creates flavor. Second, don't use too much liquid for any crockpot cooking, but especially for pot roast. Third, be sure there is plenty of flavor in the liquids you're using. All day cooking can make foods bland if there isn't a flavorful liquid.

I'm using all those tricks in this pot roast recipe. If there are others reading this who use a slow cooker to make pot roast, chime in with some comments about good tips for making pot roast in the Crockpot.

I used a very thick chuck roast from Costco. If you know anything about the South Beach Diet, you know that most of that fat has got to go. (South Beach guidelines specify not more than 10% fat.)

Here's how my roast looked after I trimmed it. There's still a big pocket of fat on one piece, but keep reading to see how I got rid of it. (I had to cut it in half to get it to fit in my Crockpot.)

Of course, I save all the scraps in a container which goes in the freezer, and then use them to make beef stock.

Rub meat on both sides with steak seasoning and black pepper, then brown the roast very well on both sides. Depending on your pan, you may need to use a little olive oil. In a small saucepan, reduce 1 cup beef stock to 1/2 cup.

While the meat browns, cut the onions and put them in the Crockpot. In this recipe, the onions are partly to hold the meat up out of the sauce for most of the cooking time, so you want them to be quite thick.

When the meat is brown put it in slow cooker on top of the onions, then deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup water, scraping off all browned bits, and add to reduced beef stock.

Add balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce to beef stock and pour over pot roast. Cook on low 6-8 hours, until meat is tender.

I drained all the liquid from the Crockpot and used a fat separator like this to remove the fat. (This is too much liquid from my first attempt at the recipe; I reduced the amount in the recipe I'm giving you.) After the fat is removed, reduce the liquid by about 1/3 to make a sauce. You could thicken it, but I didn't think it needed it. You might think they'd be too done from being in the Crockpot all that time, but the onions were delicious as well as the meat.

Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast in the Crockpot
(Makes about 6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn.)

Trim as much fat as you can from roast, and cut if necessary to fit into Crockpot. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. This will take a few minutes; don't rush the browning step.

While roast browns put 1 cup beef stock in saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Peel onions and cut into thick slices. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

(You can stop at this point and refrigerate browned roast, cut onions and mixed sauce ingredients and then put them in the Crockpot when you go to work in the morning. Don't refrigerate them in the crockery liner. Having the meat start out cold will add several hours to the cooking time, which will be good if you're cooking it all day while you're away.)

Place onions in bottom of Crockpot. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set Crockpot to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender. The meat might be partly submerged in liquid after this much time. (If I am home, I might turn the meat once or twice.

Remove meat from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from Crockpot and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

Note: If I wasn't making this for phase one, I might put some carrots in the bottom of the crockpot with the onions.

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141 comments:

Umm...yeah, I do need a bigger crockpot (all I have is a 1.5 qt for my grits). I keep looking at the ones in Sam's. Used to have one a really long time ago, it died and didn't get replaced.Yes, love the way those onions look. Just has to be good.

I'm still looking for the "perfect" crockpot, so I can make recipes like this one. Anyone have brand recommendations? I'd probably want something in the 5-6 quart range. Kalyn, this pot roast looks wonderful!

Tanna and Lydia, you're going to laugh, but I actually have six Crockpots! Mainly it's because every year when I have my holiday soup party they're on sale at that time of year, so I keep buying another one! All the Crockpots I have are Rival brand, and they seem great. I haven't tried any other brand though, so there may be other good brands. There is a big difference in the newer crockpots and the older ones (which were called "slow cookers.". The new ones cook a lot hotter. Keeping that in mind, I do have two that I bought at a thrift store, both seemed brand new when I got them.

Tanna, I have one of those 1.5 quart ones too. I use it for dips and veggies mostly. It's great to cook squash. (Cut up the squash in cubes, spray crockpot with non-stick spray, put in a few cubes of butter, salt and pepper and cook until the squash is soft.)

I love pot roast, so my mouth is watering. It looks yummy. And I commend you for saving the scraps for beef stock. I need to do that more often. You're inspiring me, because I hate the way store bought beef stock tastes.

Hi Kalyn,When I make a pot roast I cook it just the way you did in the recipe, except I cut small pockets into the roast and place whole garlic cloves into the pockets. I usually cut 6-8 pockets depending on the size of the roast. I also add carrots, new potatoes and onions about an hour and a half before serving. My husband loves for the onions to have a little crunch. : )Happy Day!Julie D.

I made this yesterday and it was wonderful! I even cut the fat off the meat like a good girl and it was still fabulous. So tender. The flavor was great, but then isn't the flavor great in everything that's been cooked in 10-year-old balsamic vinegar? (Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite things, and once you start eating the good stuff you can't go back!) Served it with asparagus with its own balsamic marinade.

Hi there - just stumbled across your website and love it :-) Great low-carb ideas!

I work full-time, plus am a nursing student so live out of my crock-pot. In a hurry one day I created this totally simple roast recipe and my parents swear it's the best roast they've ever tasted (although they haven't tried any of your recipes yet...) and we will never cook a roast in the oven again.

I take the roast out of the freezer (no thawing req'd) - take a steak knife and literally stab it in various places about 10 times (great for bad days!). Then I place a half a clove of garlic into each little stab hole, sprinkle Mrs Dash across the top, and go to work or school. I heat it on low anywhere from 7-10 hrs, mostly depending how long I am gone for. No added liquid, as it soaks in it's own juices for several hours. Comes out super tender, nice flavour, and super simple for when you are really rushed :-)

So that's my recipe, although I am sure yours is much better, and am anxious to give it a try when I actually have a few minutes to myself :-)

I've actually never added liquid to my pot roasts. I've done a "spanish" themed one, but drained the tomatoes used and reserved the liquid to make the spanish rice we had with it. (That was pre-SBD), but even still, I've never added liquid and have always managed to have a very juicy and flavorful roast.

Kalyn, I found your website a couple of weeks ago and I'm so glad! This recipe was delicious, and you're quite right about this: the key is reducing and concentrating the liquids, both before and after cooking. After doing that, the sauce was perfect. Thank you so much for all your hard work posting these recipes- you've certainly made Phase I much, much more pleasant!

i am thrilled to have found your site!!!..this is my second time jumping on south beach and i think this time i have fully accepted i need to eat this way for the rest of my life...i lost 27lbs the first time and this time i need to lose a total of 48lbs to get to a healthy 150lbs i will reach my goal this time...i have been very ill and put on oxygen 24/7, so if i ever want to get off it...there is hope i can get off it in the daytime...anyway this is day 5 and i have already lost 6lbs hooray!!!!...all your recipes look so delicious and such a nice selection of different things you are a gift to those of us who need to get off the sugar once and for all and need variety...thank you so much...i will check in every day...carol fuller

(I published this comment from my phone and accidentally hit reject, so my apologies that I had to copy and paste it!)

I made your pot roast today and there are no adequate words to describe how much my family enjoyed it. I will definitely put this recipe in my keeper file! I just found your blog today and I am certain I will be perusing it daily! Many thanks!

A lot of the flavor from the pot roast is the liquid that comes out of the meat. You don't want to add more liquid, because it just dilutes that flavor. You reduce the broth by putting it in a pan on the stove and cooking it until it's reduced by half or so. That concentrates the flavor, including the broth that's come out of the meat.

Your roast looks fabulous! I just recently made a pot roast in my dutch oven (which one of my readers made in a crock pot) and it is really good.

A tip I learned is to salt your meat and let it sit overnight in the fridge. This tenderizes the meat throughout. I then cut back or omit salt throughout the recipe. This recipe made a fantastic shepherd's pie...I'm sure yours would too!

Thank you so much for all your lovely recipes! I have you on my RSS feed because of your many fabulous SB items, but this post was particularly timely as literally five minutes ago today I decided that my only method of survival as a first year teacher is to pull out the crock pot!

Kalyn, I have 5 crockpots myself so this is right up my alley. My favorite is my newest (All-Clad) and my oldest. The others are prone to burn/overcook food around the edges. Oldest is gold and the pot does not separate from the heating element. Do you have one of those? Still works fabulously but a pain to clean. Love the onions-on-the-bottom idea.

Paula, I have TWO of those old crockpots where the base doesn't separate. They seem better for all-day cooking than the newer ones. I actually have eight crockpots (including two tiny ones) but not an All-Clad one. Will have to check that out, lol!

Oh my gosh you guys are so funny with all of your Crockpots! My Mom had one when I was a kid (more than a few years ago!) but I have not bought one yet. I have been collecting my recipes for Crockpots and I did my research (the All Clad looks pretty good to me) but so far I have not gotten one because I don't know where I would keep it (I have a lot of stuff in my kitchen!) This recipe totally inspires me though- hmm- maybe it's time to really buy one!

Made this last night for my granddaughter and her boyfriend and it was delicious. Thought I had way more than we could ever eat and I'd have leftovers for me this week, but two hungry teenagers polished all of it off except one small piece of meat! Love your site and use it all the time--am on SB and it's my go to site every day to see what else I can add to my recipe file. Thanks.

Anonymous, I don't set the policies at Amazon.com, so nothing I can do about that. (I have their Prime shipping, where you pay so much per year and all shipping is free, so I don't even see the shipping cost when I click on the items.) You can use any kind of steak rub for this recipe though. I first discovered this brand in a discount store in Utah, but lately I've only been able to find it online.

I don't know about the previous photos, Kalyn, but these sure make my mouth water! I'm a big fan of balsamic vinegar, onions, and pot roast so I'll be making this recipe when I get back from traveling next week. (Chili is in the slow cooker for dinner today.) Thank you as always. I'll report back, of course. Oh, and BTW, at last counts I had 8 slow cookers. We entertain a lot so I need them. ;-)

I have yet to cook a pot roast in my crockpot, but you have inspired me to do so. I completely agree with your three tips. Browning the meat is so important for any crockpot cooking and I'm always surprised how often this step is missed in many crockpot recipes.

This looks grand! I'd like to add mushrooms, too but my roast is 6 lbs. Should I increase the other liquids or will the liquid released from the mushrooms balance it out? Also, any tips for using a pressure cooker with this vs. a crock pot?Thanks!

Minda, You would probably need a bigger crockpot for a 6 pound roast. If you're adding mushrooms I'd probably keep the liquid about the same as it is here even though there is more meat. I would probably cut the mushrooms quite thick for a long cooking time like this.

I'm afraid I'm not enough of a pressure cooker expert to give recommendations on adapting this to the pressure cooker without trying it first.

This is in my crockpot now and the house smells heavenly! I've never been a balsamic vinegar fan, so I balked at buying it and looked for another recipe. Then I saw that my boyfriend had given me a bottle so I said, what the hey! Can't wait to eat it!

I made this last weekend and it was wonderful. Had what I think ended up being unseasoned fajita meat from local farmer's market, but it worked. I will definitely make again with a roast cut of meat. Thanks for all of your wonderful SB friendly recipes. Your webite is just my favorite!

Dinner's over and it was dee-lish-us!! My only complaint is that there aren't enough leftovers--just one small piece of meat left. My son and his friend both loved it as well! I'll definitely be making this often and will use a bigger roast next time. Finally in the crockpot I got the 'so tender it just falls apart' meat that I hear about so often.

Linda, I don't want my recipes posted in other places like that. (People copy them from groups like that and post them on other recipe sites, which ends up hurting me in search engine results.) You're welcome to post this link to the recipe though:

Made this yesterday for dinner. It took 15 minutes to get it in the Crock Pot and another 15 to finish it after the cook time. So easy and with such a fabulous result! Thanks for this easy recipe. Making the left-overs into a pot pie!Julie Trekker

Hi Kalyn,My crockpot has three temp settings: High, Low and Warm. Three hours into this and I am beginning to feel like my slow cook might be too fast cook. Should there be rapid bubblings alongs the edges? Reduced the liguids and it seems to have plenty left.

I tried it tonight with a small can of tomato paste instead of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes. It worked great! The gravy was nice and thick and I didn't have to reduce it. It was sweeter, though, so I had to add more salt. Definitely recommended though!

I'm going to try to make this tomorrow! A couple questions: I've seen pot roast recipes with brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, and it sounds a little of each in this recipe would be nice if you aren't strictly SB! My husband likes strong flavor. What do you think of those additions? Also, would red potatoes be compatible with this sauce? I know they aren't SB but my husband also happens to love meat and potatoes :) Thanks, Kalyn!

Danielle, I don't really know how this would taste with the addition of brown sugar and Worcestershire. It's already got a lot of flavor from the balsamic vinegar, so I might reduce that a bit if you add other things.

I'm not sure how the sauce would be with potatoes either. They would probably taste okay together, but I wouldn't cook the potatoes in the crockpot.

Thanks for the super quick response, Kalyn! I plan to reduce the balsamic vinegar and add a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire and a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar. I'll come back and let you know how it worked out! Just to be safe I think I will make the potatoes on the side even though I've seen recipes with it in there - don't want to mess it up!

Holy Cow! This recipe was totally yummy! The only reason I wouldn't classify this as a diet recipe is because it is so darn good, you'll overeat on portion size LOL! (and I even burned mine a little and it still rocked!)

Another fun thing to do w/pot roast is to shred it to make street tacos. I like to add beef stock, cilantro, lime juice, white onion, and salt and pepper and slow cook my roast in that. Once it is done and you take it out and cool shred your beef and you can either have it on some rice or in a small flour or corn tortilla with a little fresh cilantro and chopped white onion. Yum!

i made this Sunday & OH MY WORD, it was the best pot roast i've ever had & made in my life! WOW! we didn't have leftovers, b/c there were seconds. it was so good i stood by the crock pot picking off the last of the meat around some of that fat...LOL! my daughter, who is 4, doesn't eat onions, but she devoured these onions as well as the hubby & i...so so so so so good!!!!!!!

Lily I haven't made it in the oven so I can only guess, so you must promise not to blame me if it doesn't turn out as well as the CrockPot version. I would brown meat and follow other directions as above and then cook in the oven on about 250-300F in a heavy dutch oven type pan with a tight fitting lid. I'm not sure how long it would take but I'd guess 3-4 hours, maybe a bit longer.

K, I love the fact that you use ZipList. It is one of my favorite apps. I don't print out recipes anymore, but turn on my iPad and use the recipes right off the screen. Thank you for doing this...it really makes my day to be able to save your recipes all in one place...Linda Hester

Hi...made this recipe Saturday. Wowserz it was yummy. We didn't keep it strictly Phase 1 and added baby carrots, mushrooms and celery into the mix. It was a complete, delicious meal. The leftovers are perfect for roast sandwiches for my hubby this week. Thanks for all your recipes!

We just finished eating this. The meat was SO tender and tasty. I loved the gravy on the meat, but didn't care for it on the mashed potatoes that I made separately. It had too much tang. I put carrots in with the onions and they were delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

I don't know if I've ever posted a comment here, but I think I first made this pot roast 4 or 5 years ago. I haven't used any other pot roast recipe since. I try not to let anyone I love use any other recipe, either!

The meat and sauce are delicious, but ohmygoodnessthoseonions!!!!!!!! The onions are fantastic. If I had room, I'd slice up about 5 onions' worth, just to have the leftovers.

I always hated pot roast, but I figured I would try this recipe since it seemed simple and didn't include many ingredients. IT IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST POT ROAST I HAVE EVER HAD. It was so easy to make, and I think it's now my favorite meal. Thank you!

Kalyn, My kids absolutley loved the roast! They ate it with vigor and smiles.I made it without the steak seasoning just a smidge of pepper and garlic salt in its place. Then instead of reducing the broth used the broth anf leftover meat as a vegtable soup base. It was a hit. So thank you for sharing this recipe it made two delicious meals for my family.

As far as I know, carrots are still not permitted for phase one due to the sugar content. The newest book that has a foods list (South Beach Diet Supercharged) has them on "Foods to Avoid" for Phase One.

So I'm 4 hours into the 8 hour roast and I am very nervous. My hubby and I cut the pieces down, since that is what the picture shows and I "browned" the meat but it looks SUPER tough right now. I'm staring to think up a back-up dinner plan because I don't see how this will tenderize from where it is at right now. What did I do wrong? I didn't cook the meat through, but how would you define "browning well"... I browned top and bottom.

I browned both sides well. I think you can tell from all the comments here that the post roast is going to get tender. Cook it for the rest of the time without lifting the lid and I bet it will be great.

Hi Kalyn, found this recipe on Pinterest. Just wanted to trying something new instead of the same old meat, carrots and potatoes. I definitely think this is the one and I am looking forward to making it in a couple days!

Well I made this recipe tonight and I was very excited about it. It smelled so yummy, but when I tasted it it was very tart and strong. I don't usually cook with balsamic vinegar, but I didn't expect it to be so very sour. I decided to add some brown sugar to help mellow it out and that helped, but the sweet, tart and acidic combo just really suit my taste. I did enjoy the overall flavor, so I may try and make this again and tweak it a little more to my taste.

I have a bit of an addiction to vinegars! I have half a pantry full of various vinegars; different prices, flavors, etc. I have found that the acidityand sweetness varies between bottles. All balsamics are not created equal! Thank you Kalyn for such an amazing site!

This recipe sounds delicious! I got the link for this recipe off of "The Test Kitchen of Melissa Fallis." She has an entry about freezer crockpot meals. In her entry, she buys ingredients for 5 meals, freezes 4, and makes this one. But I was wanting to freeze this one too. Should I brown the roast before I freeze it? Or remove it from the freezer, brown and thaw, and then put it in the crockpot? I am not sure what to do! Thank you in advance for your advice!

This looks absolutely amazing! I've only used my crock pot a couple of times for fondue & pulled pork recipes, and have been looking for other tasty recipes to try. My mom made balsamic onions in the oven one Thanksgiving and they were incredible, so I can't wait to try this!

What kind of onions do you suggest for this recipe? I love Walla Walla, or sweet Vidalia onions, but I'm wondering if they would be too sweet?

I was looking for a crock pot roast beef recipe on Pinterest and stopped at your picture! I've read the ingredients and all these great comments and can't wait to try it. I plan to use a 6+ lb roast as I'm feeding 4 strapping men and 2 women. Should I just double all the ingredients and figure less is more when in doubt?

Made this last night as I was looking for something different than the usual onion mix/carrot/potatoes pot roast. WOW! Delish. Mine came out a just a touch dry, but I take 100% of the blame for that. I got stuck at work so instead of the recommended 6-8 hours mine was a little more than 9. But OH MY GOSH those onions! Perfect!! I could just have had a crock pot full of those. Amazing! This will definitely be going on the monthly dinner rotation! Oh, and if anyone reading this has NOT made Kalyn's stuffed peppers, stop what you are doing and go make them immediately. Still one of my all time favorite recipes. Thanks Kayln!

Oh my STARS, I made this last night, and it's gooooooooooooooooooood. So delicious. I did add the carrots (about half a bag of baby carrots). I didn't have plain tomato sauce, so I substituted some Classico Cabernet Marinara, and I used Grill Mates Steak rub. I wondered if those flavors would go together, and they DID. Thank you so much! This recipe has been shared AND "Pinned."

Kalyn, thank you so much for the recipe! I was looking for a good low carb crockpot recipe, and came across this. A HUGE hit in my household tonight! Definitely going on the "will make again for sure" list.

Wow. My husband and I are just finishing our SBDphase 1, and we couldn't have done it without all your fabulous recipes, Kalyn! This pot roast is just utterly fantastic - probably the best thing I've eaten in months, let alone just on South Beach!! I've made a document containing all the recipes I used for phase 1, and about 3/4 of them are Kalyn's Kitchen! I made the pot roast exactly as you wrote (you've never steered me wrong!) but served with some broccoli and toasted spaghetti squash - I felt like I was eating a wonderful roast, not at all "diet food".

After years of trying "new" pot roast recipes, none could ever beat my tried-n-true original. But, this turned out perfectly and the flavor was out of this world! I only wish I had made more gravy at the end, it was so incredibly good. Thank you, Kalyn!!! I am so glad I stumbled across your blog.

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

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